Last night I did something I rarely do, I noticed an advertisement on the right hand side of my Facebook page. Suite101.com advertised that they needed writers. Intrigued I went to their site. Writers are asked to fill out an application that requires two writing samples. The Web site said that my credentials and samples would be reviewed, and if Suite101 felt my writing and credentials met their needs an editor would contact me. My writing samples were two previously published articles. I wasn’t surprised to find out I’d been accepted. I was, however, surprised to receive the congratulations email in less than 12 hours. The terms of the employment which they outlined in the email included a set number of articles I’d be expected to write within a given period of time. I was instructed to read and sign their contract. That’s when I decided to do a little investigative work. Below is one of the articles I found. This review by IBrutus on hubpages.com

“Suite101.com is another revenue sharing, paid-to-write site (PTW), similar to Gather and Helium. However, the terms of agreement at Suite101 so favor the company and deprive writers of revenue, I’m giving it a big thumbs down.

These PTW sites work by placing ads on the pages and sharing whatever revenue is generated with the authors. The exact percentage is often hard to determine, but it definitely favors the website owners. The real advantage to a blogger is that by posting material on multiple sites you can drive traffic to your own site.

And that is where the fault in Suite101 lies. Other sites allow duplicate posting. You can post a article about Tom Cruise’s latest movie on your website, Gather, Helium, Xomba, Hub Pages and Thisisby. Suite101 demands exclusive writes to all your content and does not except previously published material.

For exclusive rights to original material, they pay $1.50 per thousand page views. One writer posting on the sites forum said he had 100 articles that received 34,000 page views in a month. Fifty-dollars a month for all that work. Ridiculous! Had he sold those articles to Associated Content, he would have received anywhere from $4 to $50 a piece. AC also pays a performance bonus of $1.50 per thousand page views in addition to the upfront pay.

I recommended selling non-exclusive rights to AC, then posting the same article to to Hub Pages and Xomba. Both those sites alternate showing Google Adsense ads with their account code and yours. The fairest revenue sharing model for making money writing online. I wrote this article on Associated Content for Hub Pages. It has received 193 page views with my Adsense account code, making $2.50. That’s about $10 a thousand views for comparison.”

I cannot substantiate the information posted on HubPages, After my cursory research and given my own experiences with publishing I decided that Suite101.com was not an opportunity I wanted to pursue at this time. (Later on I’ll discuss the problems I’m currently having validating the royality payments I am receiving through Amazon.)

If you need money to validate your work then a PTW may be the answer. If you never receive any money or you get some obscenely small payment for your work, the only thing you’ve lost is the investment of your time. That’s why I’ve continually suggested people write because they love to write. The reward is in the writing. If you decide to try a PTW I offer several cautionaries. Don’t expect writing for a PTW to be a good resume builder. I don’t know how stringent PTWs are about selecting writers, and I don’t know how other employers view the content on these sites. Finally, you’ll have to provide the PTW with personal data and specifics on how you are to be paid. My advice is to use a PayPal account and not a checking or savings account. If they want information for direct deposit, I’d advise you to look elsewhere. Providing direct deposit information could open you to financial problems rather than rewards.

Living in the Heartland

Three Extraordinary Women's Stories

Living in the Heartland Preview Video

Living in the Heartland chronicles three women's search for identity, self-esteem, and happiness. It's a compelling story of real Americans − women who are heroines not because of remarkable feats but in the graceful way they live in the face of challenges. Living in the Heartland: Three Extraordinary Women's Stories available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com.

Naomi sent me a message. She asked: “What I would like to know, is when you are trying to get a paid gig online, how do you find out if it is legitimate? And if they refuse to pay you … Continue reading →

Today I heard a story on the radio that caught my attention. It began with a story not unlike my own. A writer discussed how she’d received complementary letters from publishers and editors in response to her manuscript submissions. Although … Continue reading →

This second part of an interview with Kathleen O’Keefe Kanavos focuses on her experiences as an author, and her views on traditional verses self-publishing. Kathy’s first book Surviving Cancerland: The Psychic Aspects of Healing is being shopped by NYC literary … Continue reading →

Once again I wish to thank Nancy Burke Barr for her guest post on Facebook. I respect both her wisdom and views on social media. Nancy has generally been patient with me, but my comments to her post resulted in … Continue reading →

I am most grateful to Nancy Burke Barr aka Mentor Mama for her guest post about Facebook. I value both her wisdom and advice. A lawyer in another lifetime, Nancy clearly argues on behalf of the Internet. I am impressed … Continue reading →

The time has come as with all things to move on. In this particular case I want to use the next few posts to examine the utility of Facebook for writers. To be honest I spend little time on Facebook. … Continue reading →

Okay, Okay. I did say I was done discussing Twitter. However, Mentor Mama sent me some good Twitter information written by Glyna Humm (glynahumm.com). I felt obliged to pass it on to help everyone get the most out of their … Continue reading →

My friend Leslie (moondustwriter.com) asked her readers earlier in May to write something in 160 characters. She challenged: “What can you do in 160 characters? A story surely not! I have titles longer than 160 characters for goodness sake.” Leslie’s … Continue reading →

DAYTON — Their backgrounds may be dramatically different, but it’s their similarities that are the focus of Pamela Ferris-Olson’s new book. “Living in the Heartland: Three Extraordinary Women’s Stories,” chronicles the lives of three Miami Valley women who represent different … Continue reading →